Admitting the Obvious
by She's a Star
Summary: Everyone knows Ron and Hermione are perfect for each other-except Ron himself. Can two spirits from the past help him realize that they could be more than just friends? *Final Chapter uploaded!*
1. Chapter One

Admitting the Obvious

  
  


by She's a Star

  
  


Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the oh so brilliant J.K. Rowling. A Christmas Carol, which this is kinda/sorta lightly based on (I didn't notice the similarity until I started writing it) isn't mine either.

  
  


A/N: I know, I know, I SHOULD be working on Meet the Parents (Which Airelle Vilka reviewed, by the way! *dies of happiness*) but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head! So behold the greatness (cough cough YEAH RIGHT cough cough) that is She's a Star's latest work :) 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter One

  
  


Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were perfect for each other.

Everyone at Hogwarts was aware of this, from Professor Snape in the freezing dungeons to Moaning Myrtle in the out of order girls' bathroom to the house elves in the kitchen. 

In fact, the only person who didn't know this was Ron Weasley himself.

"I am so bloody fed up with you bloody lot!" Ron proclaimed angrily after Seamus Finnigan had made yet another 'Ron loves Hermione' comment. 

Breathing heavily through his nostrils, Ron stared down at his three friends with brown eyes that shone in anger.

"HERMIONE. AND. I. ARE. JUST. FRIENDS," he shouted. "Is that SO hard to believe?"

"Yes," Harry, Seamus, and Dean all answered innocently in unison.

"AURGH!" Ron cried in exasperation, turning around and stomping out of the dormitory. His friends' laughter echoed in his ears as he entered the common room and threw himself into an armchair. HONESTLY, was it POSSIBLE to be any more ANNOYING? After all, what had Ron ever done to deserve all the taunting they gave him???

Sure, he'd given Seamus a bit of a hard time about Lavender, but THAT was entirely different. Lavender and Seamus were...well, a couple.

And he and Hermione were definitely not.

Not at all.

"Ron!"

Ron looked up to see Ginny rushing towards him, red hair flying behind her.

"What is it, Ginny?" Ron asked, annoyed. 

He had a feeling he knew what it was.

"You'd better go ask her right this INSTANT, Ronald Arthur Weasley," Ginny ordered, tilting her head slightly to the left where Hermione sat, immersed in a thick book.

Ron groaned. For the past few weeks, ever since the Yule Ball had been announced, Ginny wouldn't shut up about how he absolutely HAD to ask Hermione.

'Last year is NOT happening again!' she'd said sternly.

Well, Ron didn't care if last year happened again! Hermione had been fraternizing with the enemy, for Merlin's sake...he'd just been sticking up for Harry! Anyone would do it!

It wasn't like he'd been jealous or anything.

Not at all.

"I'm NOT asking her, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, his voice drenched in annoyance. "Hermione and I are FRIENDS. Just like me and Harry, and Hermione and Harry-"

"Oh yes, I'm SURE Harry spent the whole summer moaning and groaning about how he bet Hermione had gone to visit 'that bloody sorry excuse for a Quidditch player'," Ginny said sarcastically. "You know, if you don't ask her soon, someone else will."

"I don't CARE!" Ron hissed, feeling his ears go red as Hermione looked up from her book and eyed them questioningly. Why did Ginny have to talk so bloody LOUD?

"Yeah, I'm sure, Ron," Ginny said dryly. She was quiet for a moment before her brown eyes began to sparkle deviously. "I heard Neville say he was going to ask her."

"He'd better not."

The words were out of his mouth before they registered in Ron's mind, and he swore inwardly.

Could this day get ANY worse?

"Oooh," Ginny's tone was infuriatingly smug. "You don't care, eh?"

"No, I don't!" Ron said, his voice coming out much louder than he'd intended it to.

"Who would you rather go to the ball with?" asked Ginny, "Hermione or that Fleur Delacour girl?"

"Hey," Ron protested, "That shouldn't count-Fleur isn't even here!"

"Well, pretend she is," Ginny said impatiently. "Who would you go with?"

Ron paused for a moment....it was a test, he wasn't too thick to overlook that. If he answered Hermione, Ginny would tease him shamelessly and insist that he ask her, but if he answered Fleur, his sister would be furious and go on and on about how shallow he was.

"I'm not answering," Ron said flatly.

"Oooh, so it IS Hermione!" said Ginny triumphantly. "If it was Fleur, you would have said so."

Dammit!

"Nuh uh," Ron said weakly.

Ginny grinned widely in response.

"Oh, Hermione!" called his sister in a sing-songy voice.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, looking up from Prefects Who Gained Power.

Honestly, Ron thought, She's the female equivalent of Percy!

"Ron has something to ask you!" Ginny continued. 

Glaring at his sister, Ron muttered, "No, I don't."

"What IS it, Ron?" Hermione asked, a hint of impatience in her voice.

"Nothing, Hermione," Ron said through gritted teeth, cursing whoever had made up the rule that you couldn't hit girls.

"All right then," Hermione responded, looking back down at her book. For a moment, Ron was sure he saw a glint of disappointment in her honey-colored eyes, but she blinked and it disappeared.

Great, he thought to himself bitterly. Now I'm seeing things. Next I'll be hearing voices in my head. And then I'll start talking back. And giving them names. And zodiac signs.

"Can't you just stay out of my life?" Ron whispered angrily to his sister. Ginny gave him a saccharine smile.

"Of course not!"

  
  


~*~

  
  


Ron stayed in the common room as long as possible, not wanting to go back into his dormitory and endure the endless Hermione taunts again. However, by the time one A.M. came around, he could barely keep his eyes open. Sighing, he rose from the scarlet armchair and walked sluggishly up the winding staircase that led to the fifth year boys' dormitory. Thankfully, when he arrived he found Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Neville all fast asleep. He changed into his too-small blue and white striped pajamas and climbed into bed.

Within minutes, his own snores joined those belonging to his dorm mates.

  
  


~*~  


"I say we conjure up a bucket of ice cold water and shock him awake!"

"You're impossible."

"It would be refreshing!"

"Oh, YOU!"

Ron opened his eyes reluctantly-surely it couldn't be morning yet?-, annoyed by the sound of two hushed voices conversing: one female, the other male.

After sleepily rubbing his eyes a few times, Ron focused on the two figures who stood at the foot of the bed. At first, he thought it to be Harry and Ginny: the male had glasses and messy black hair, and the female was slender and redheaded. However, on closer inspection he discovered that it couldn't be his best friend and sister: the man was tall and lanky and would tower at least a head over Harry, and the female was much more shapely than Ginny...and her eyes...he'd seen those eyes...

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Ron screamed, the fact that there were two strangers standing within five feet of him finally registering in his drowsy mind. "Who the bloody hell are you??!!"

The man laughed, and the woman gave him a kind smile. It was odd...they looked just like...

But they couldn't be.

Your best friend's dead parents didn't just come stand at the foot of your bed.

They just didn't.

So who were they???

"Hi Ron," the woman smiled. "Sorry to surprise you like this-"

"WHO are you?" Ron repeated, scooting as far away as possible from the Po...from whoever they were.

"I'm Lily," she responded, tone cheerful, "And this is my husband James...we're Harry's parents."


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: The lovely second chapter is up :) *hehe* I apologize for its extreme shortness, I know that was just evil of me :) Thanks a million to all my awesome reviewers! Hope you like this chapter too! (Even though it's pathetically short)

  
  


Chapter Two

  
  


"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs.

Them...the Potters...dead...but not dead...here...but dead...but not dead...here-

"Quiet down!" Harry's father (could he really be Harry's father?) whispered. "You don't want to wake the whole House!"

"You...you're dead," Ron stammered. "I know you're dead."

"Rightio you are, kid," Mr. Potter grinned. "But we've come to help you."

James took a step closer.

"Aaaah!" Ron yelled. "Stay away from me!"

James chuckled, and Harry heard his best friend stir in the bed next to his own.

"Ron," Harry muttered sleepily, "Who're you talking to?"

"Harry," Ron said weakly, "Your parents are standing right next to my bed."

"WHAT?!"

Harry sat straight up, grabbed his glasses from his bedside table, and looked frantically around the dormitory. After a few seconds, he turned back to Ron and eyed him as though he'd sprouted a second head.

"You must've been dreaming."

"I'm not!" Ron exclaimed. "They're right there, can't you see them?"

Harry eyed the area where Mr. and Mrs. Potter stood, his expression one Ron couldn't even begin to read. When he spoke again, his voice was a mixture of hurt and fatigue.

"That's not funny, Ron."

"Harry, I'm not joking," Ron said desperately. "They're right th-"

"Goodnight, Ron," Harry said in a final tone, removing his glasses and lying back down.

"You're the only one who can see or hear us, dear," Mrs. Potter said softly.

"Well, you could have told me that earlier before I got Harry mad at me!" Ron hissed. "And why can I see you instead of him, anyway? You're HIS parents!"

"We've come to help you," Mrs. Potter said.

"How?" Ron asked. "I didn't know spirits could come back to the world..."

"Well, dear, it's a very complicated procedure involving-"

Mr. Potter cut his wife off, and Ron couldn't help but feel a bit relieved-she had been starting to sound like Hermione.

"You don't want to know about all the boring stuff," Mr. Potter assured him. "The point is, we're here to help you realize that you're madly in love with Hermione."

"WHAT?!?!" Ron exploded.

Even Harry's parents, who happened to be just the tiniest bit DEAD, were going to bug him about Hermione!!

"Now, dear, you know you like her at least a little bit," Mrs. Potter started.

"I do not!" Ron exclaimed.

Was there no God?!

"Oh really?" Mr. Potter asked slyly. "Then why did you cry yourself to sleep the night she got Petrified in second year?"

"How did you know about that?" Ron asked, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"As spirits, we have the power to look down on you," Mrs. Potter explained.

"Oh, great," Ron said sarcastically.

"And let me tell you," Mr. Potter said with a grin, "Last year's little Yule Ball fiasco was even better than a soap opera."

Ron couldn't help but think that many things were more interesting than bars of Dial singing classical music, but didn't say anything.

"You can admit that you like her, Ron," Mrs. Potter said gently. "I promise we won't tease you."

"I'm not admitting anything!" Ron declared.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged a look.

"Well, then, if you're sure dear," Mrs. Potter said a bit reluctantly. "I didn't think we'd have to resolve to this..."

Ron opened his mouth to ask what it was exactly that they were resolving to, but he was cut off by Mr. Potter, who was rubbing his hands together in boyish anticipation.

"This is gonna be good."


	3. Chapter Three

Admitting the Obvious

  
  


by She's a Star

  
  


Chapter Three

Ron didn't like the sound of that.

"What's going to be good?" he asked nervously.

Mrs. Potter, however, was busy muttering something under her breath. A few seconds later, she waved her right arm and a smoky sort of screen the size of the Gryffindor fireplace appeared.

"What's this?" asked Ron.

Neither of Harry's parents replied. Instead, Mrs. Potter snapped her fingers twice. Immediately an image appeared on the screen: he and Harry back in first year.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he watched himself say, "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Ron felt his stomach do a few flip-flops in self disgust as he heard the words. He had been such an insensitive git back then.

His heart dropped a bit as he watched Hermione brush past them, tears running down her cheeks. 

"I think she heard you," an eleven year old Harry said uncomfortably.

"So?"

Ron was filled with self loathing caused by his own words.

"She must've noticed she's got no friends."

The screen lingered on he and Harry for a moment before going blank again.

"Well?" Mrs. Potter asked after a moment of silence.

"Well what?" Ron asked shortly. "I was an insensitive prat, so what?"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged amused glances, and Ron glared at them. Why was everyone so bloody positive he liked Hermione?

"On to the next," Mrs. Potter announced, snapping her fingers again. This time, Hermione and Ginny filled the screen. It seemed to be earlier that day, since Ginny was wearing the same red t-shirt, and Hermione had on that periwinkle blue sweater that she always looked particularly pretty in.

Or she would, at least, to someone who looked at her like THAT.

Which Ron most certainly didn't.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ginny was saying sympathetically.

Hermione looked up, and Ron noticed that her eyes were shining with tears. Biting her lip and blinking a few times, she replied, "It's all right, Ginny...it shouldn't matter to me, after all. I shouldn't care." She took a deep breath. "He's just Ron."

What the bloody hell is this? Ron thought to himself, bewildered.

"I'm such an idiot to even have ever thought we could be...you know..." 

And with that, Hermione hunched over and began to cry, Ginny rubbing her back soothingly.

Ron stared, transfixed...surely this couldn't be real???

As the screen went blank a second time, Mrs. Potter began to speak.

"That occurred earlier this evening," she explained. 

"What?" Ron asked in shock. "That can't be true!"

"Why not?" the Potters asked in unison.

"Because...just...because!" Ron stuttered. "Hermione can't think of me...like THAT! We're just friends! We don't even get along half the time!"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter both eyed him skeptically.

"And plus," Ron added darkly, "What about Krum?"

"Oh, Krum's been outta this picture forever," Mr. Potter said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Back at the end of last year when you asked Krum for his autograph, Hermione informed him that she'd much rather just be friends and couldn't come to Bulgaria that summer."

Ron felt as though a Hagrid-sized weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he couldn't help but feel ridiculously happy for a moment. However, his extreme giddiness must have shown in his face, because Harry's dad sent him an exaggerated wink.

"She's all yours, buddy," Mr. Potter said, wriggling his eyebrows. His wife elbowed him lightly in the stomach, and while her husband doubled over in pain, she said, "I promise this isn't some sort of hoax, Ron...this is real."

"Well..."

Ron could feel himself wavering for a moment. It would be rather nice, actually, to dance with Hermione...to have her get all made up like she'd been the year before, just for him.

But Harry and the others would never let him hear the end of it.

"I don't like Hermione, and I'm not asking her!" Ron declared.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged yet another look, and Harry's mother snapped her fingers again, causing a new image to fill the screen.

It was Neville, nervously approaching Hermione, who was bent over an essay.

"Erm...Hermione?" Neville asked, his cheeks bright red.

Hermione looked up from her essay. "Yes, Neville?"

"I was..er...I was wondering," Neville stuttered, looking horribly embarrassed, "I was wondering if you would...if you would gototheballwithme."

"What was that?" Hermione asked, brow wrinkled in confusion.

"I was wondering if you'd go to the ball with me," Neville repeated, this time a bit clearer.

"Oh," Hermione's face broke out into a smile that Ron was positive was forced. "Of course, Neville...I'd love to."

Neville smiled back, then said, "Great...I was sure Ron had asked you already."

"Yes," Hermione said, her tone just the teeniest bit bitter. "Well, he didn't."

"Well...all right," Neville said, positively glowing. "I'll see ya later Hermione!"

"Bye, Neville," Hermione said softly, turning and going back to her essay.

As soon as the screen went blank again, Ron exploded.

"What the bloody hell was that?!?!" he roared. "HERMIONE WOULD NEVER GO TO THE BALL WITH NEVILLE! SHE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE NEVILLE! NO GIRL WOULD LIKE NEVILLE!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mrs. Evans replied simply. She snapped again, and the screen filled with an image of Hermione and Neville dancing in the crowded Great Hall. Hermione winced in pain as Neville apparently stepped on her foot, and he muttered, "Sorry."

"It's all right," she said, smiling at him.

Neville smiled back. "You know, Hermione, I'm...I'm really glad you went with me. All the other girls wouldn't even look twice at stupid, clumsy Neville."

"Oh, Neville, don't talk like that!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're not stupid, and...well, I suppose you are a bit accident prone, but everyone has their weaknesses!"

"Well, I've sure got a lot of them," Neville said bitterly. "You know, I doubt any girl will ever like me."

Ron studied Hermione's eyes intensely, watching the conflict that was going on in them.

Finally, she replied, "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

And then she leaned forward...and...

"WHAT?!?!" Ron screamed as she shyly pecked Neville on the lips. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!? HERMIONE WOULD NEVER KISS NEVILLE...THIS IS A LOAD OF DUNG! THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE!"

Mrs. Potter gave him a look he couldn't decode (she was just as skilled at this as her son), and snapped again.

There was Hermione and Neville...smiling, holding hands, whispering to one another. Their remaining years at Hogwarts sped by, images so sugary-sweet and puppy-love filled that it gave Ron the feeling that he'd be seeing his dinner again very soon.

And then...Neville pulling a ring box out of his robes, getting down on one knee (without even tripping!) and proposing.

A single word escaped from Hermione's lips.

"Yes."

"YES?!" Ron shouted. "NO BLOODY WAY IN BLOODY HELL IS THAT BLOODY HAPPENING!"

"Oh, it will," Mr. Potter assured him. "These are for real."

"But...Hermione would never...MARRY Neville!" Ron said weakly. "She doesn't LIKE him!"

"You can learn to love someone," Mrs. Potter explained gently. "Stranger things have happened."

Ron couldn't think of anything stranger than Hermione falling in love with Neville.

"But that...that's IMPOSSIBLE," Ron stuttered.

"No, it's not," Mrs. Potter said. "And as a matter of fact, dear, that's what will happen if you don't ask Hermione to the ball."

"But..." Ron said meekly. "That's so wrong!"

Mr. Potter smiled wryly. "I thought that was what you thought about you and Hermione."

"Me and Hermione isn't that bad," Ron said defensively. "It's not like Hermione and Neville...me and Hermione could actually happen!"

"And you and Hermione should happen," Mrs. Potter finished, smiling at him. "So...just give it some thought, will you dear?"

"Okay," Ron agreed softly. 

Mrs. Potter leaned forward and gave him a quick hug, then said, "I know you'll do the right thing."

Mr. Potter grinned at him. "See ya, buddy."

"See ya," Ron echoed. 

The Potters cast one last glance, full of longing, at their son, and Ron realized something odd...

He probably knew Harry's parents better than Harry did now.

Full of sympathy for his best friend, he studied him for a moment as well. 

What would Harry think, if he and Hermione were...like that? Wouldn't he feel a bit left out?

Or maybe he wouldn't mind...he seemed to be showing the slightest interest in Ginny, after all.

Ron turned back to ask the Potters how they thought their son would react only to find that they'd disappeared.

Yawning, Ron laid back down in bed and closed his eyes, his mind full of questions.

Was he even awake right now?

Was this even possible?

Well, he wasn't sure about that...

But he knew one thing for sure.

First thing the next morning, he was asking Hermione to the ball.


	4. Chapter Four

Admitting the Obvious

  
  


by She's a Star

  
  


A/N: All righty, here is the wonderful conclusion to this epic story :) *hehehe* As if. But oh well...this is the end of it all! Tragedy, isn't it? It's really, really, REALLY short, but hopefully sweet as well :) All righty, I'll quit rambling...read on!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter Four

  
  


"Hey Hermione...Hermione!"

Hermione, who was just on her way out the portrait hole, turned around, and Ron sped over to her.

"'Morning Hermione," he greeted her, a bit out of breath.

"Good morning, Ron," she said, voice containing a bit of confusion. "Where's Harry?"

"Oh, he's still sleeping," Ron said dismissively. "So, you're going down to breakfast?"

"No, Ron," Hermione said sarcastically. "I just thought I'd take a nice stroll around the corridors."

Ron didn't know how to reply to that.

Just ask her already, you idiot! he commanded himself.

"So...uh..."

"Spit it out, Ron, I'm starving," Hermione ordered.

"Uh...would you go to the ball with me?" he asked, feeling his ears heat up at once. 

Why couldn't he have gotten a pair of NORMAL ears???

Hermione studied him intently for a moment, and Ron was sure his ears were matching the common room decor perfectly by now.

After what seemed like an eternity, a smile broke out across her face, and she replied, "Of course. I'd love to."

"Well, great!" Ron said, grinning back. They stood silent for a moment, and Ron suggested, "Well, let's go down to breakfast, shall we?"

"Sure," Hermione replied. 

Ron offered his arm gallantly, and stifling giggles, Hermione took it, and the two of them made their way down to the Great Hall.

As they passed Professor McGonagall's classroom, a pair of eyes the size of tennis balls observed them, and it immediately scurried out of the classroom. Both Ron and Hermione took no notice.

"Dobby! Dobby!" the house-elf squeaked as they ran into Professor Flitwick's classroom on tiny legs.

"What is it, Blinky?" Dobby asked, pulling up one lime green checkered sock.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger was just in the halls together, sir," Blinky reported excitedly. "Hermione had her arm on Ron's, she did."

Dobby squealed in excitement, and the two of them immediately rushed off, cleaning forgotten, to tell the rest of the house elves. 

By the end of that day, everyone at Hogwarts was aware that Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were attending the Yule Ball together, from the house-elves in the kitchens to Moaning Myrtle in the out of order girls' bathroom to Professor Snape in the freezing dungeons.

  
  
  
  


THE END


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